Immediate measures are needed for climate change
Tackling climate change can not be postponed and promises must be acted upon immediately. This clear message was sent by distinguished scientists from the 7th Delphi Economic Forum that takes place in Delphi on April 6-9 and is under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, reports APE-MPE.
During the discussion, moderated by Nik Gowing, founder of Thinking the Unthinkable, COP26 Regional Ambassador to Europe, Central Asia, Turkey and Iran, David Moran, stressed that there is very little time for ambitious action. “The window of opportunity is closing,” he said, urging all countries to align with the Paris targets and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The cost of environmental destruction for Greece is estimated at 700 billion by the end of the century if we do not act immediately,” said Christos Zerefos, general secretary of the Academy of Athens and Greece’s representative for Climate Change. He called for the Glasgow agreement to be implemented immediately, not for 2030, and stressed the importance of education so that people could understand the critical turning point on the planet. For his part, Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization, said that we can avoid a rise in temperature by 3 degrees, but we need an immediate transition to other forms of energy. It also highlighted the huge impact that deforestation has on the climate.
The assessment that the war in Ukraine will accelerate the transition to green energy was expressed by Costas Synolakis, chairman of the Special Scientific Committee on Climate Change for Greece. He stressed that scientists should persuade governments to take immediate action, considering it possible to achieve the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as long as we act now. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, expressed concern that the debate was focused on the next generation rather than today. Many African countries are already experiencing, he said, the economic impact of climate change. He also stressed that we should not ignore the impact that Europe’s energy transition will have after the war in Ukraine.
For his part, Michalis Skoullos, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Oceanography at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, stressed that it is the right time for scientists and environmentalists to inform the public, but also to explain the governments to the citizens. different path to follow in terms of energy policy.